Howard, Fresno State Football Player, Dies of Gunshot Wounds

Fresno State football star Willie Howard Jr. died Wednesday of gunshot wounds suffered in a July 11 disturbance at an apartment in Fresno.

Howard, a 6-foot-3, 285-pound defensive end who earned All-Big West Conference honorable mention last season as a junior, was shot twice with a high-powered rifle when he and two other men allegedly forced their way into an apartment and accosted the occupant.

Howard, 25, an ex-Marine who formerly played at Pasadena City College, was shot in the leg and back. The leg was amputated.

The two men with Howard, Raymond Duran, 32, and Ralph Navarro, 26, were arrested Monday on charges of burglary and assault. Howard had been booked by proxy on the same charges.

The occupant of the apartment, Robert Trevino, 27, said Duran was angry because Trevino had been dating Duran’s estranged wife. Trevino said he fired at Howard in self defense. He has not been charged in the shooting.